A lot of fables, fairy tales and legends have been invented about the pike. And this is not surprising. Pike is a well-known freshwater predator that can live in any lake, river, pond, small stake. She does not live only in mountain rivers and in ponds, completely freezing in winter.
Many people think that she can live 100 years or more. These are all fictions and myths. Like all living things, it has its own time period. So how many years does a pike live? This article will tell about it.
Cunning and evil
The body structure of the pike suggests that it is a predatory and voracious fish. Her body is oblong, compressed on the sides, adapted to fast and swift throws. Hunts from ambush, swiftly and unexpectedly.
Half of the head is occupied by a mouth dotted with sharp teeth, and the snout is flattened and elongated. The teeth are located on the palatine bones, tongue, lower jaw. They fall out one by one throughout the year, and new ones grow in their place. The fish has good eyesight, the structure of the eyes allows it to see in front, sideways and above itself.
Pike is a cautious and treacherous predator. Few fish manage to escape from the sharp teeth of this hunter. She fearlessly attacks prey, which is 1/3 of her weight. Exceptfish, feeds on frogs, lizards, snakes. In times of famine, he does not disdain his relatives either.
Waterfowl chicks are also targeted by pike. She loves to eat food waste that is thrown into the river. The pike swallows its prey whole (like a python) and, until it digests it, does not go hunting. An adult pike weighing 10-12 kg is enough to hunt 1-2 times a week.
Already in the 16th and 17th centuries, people thought about how many years a pike lives. Fish, it seemed to them, could exist for 100, 200, or even more years. How many tales have been invented about this! But in reality, the pike does not live that long. Catfish is considered the longest-lived among fish, which often celebrates its 100th anniversary.
How a pike grows and how many years it lives
It would seem that a predator is invulnerable and can easily live for decades. But not everything is so simple. Pike, like any other fish, is prone to being caught and attacked by other predators, such as otters.
Her eggs, which she spawns in early spring, are eagerly eaten by migratory birds. Young pike are attacked by their relatives, which are larger and stronger. Those pikes that have grown up often fall ill with various diseases or die from poor environmental conditions. Well, how many years does a mature and adult pike live?
Weight and age
The body weight and age of this fish are closely related. The older the pike, the heavier it is. The more likely she is to live to a respectable age.
Some sources claim that pike live for 30 years or more. Accordingly, the body weight of a fish of this age will be about 40 kg. This is due to the fact that the first 3 years the mass of an individual reaches only 1 kg. And then every year she adds 1 kg.
Thus, a 4-5 year old pike will weigh 2-3 kg with a body length of 70-75 cm. Adults aged 10-12 years weigh approximately 12-16 kg. Old pikes that live to be 25-30 years old weigh 30-40 kg.
River Life
Is there a relationship between habitat and fish age? The question of how many years pikes live in the river remains relevant and open. If the reservoir in which the predator lives is rich in food, the ecological indicators are good, it lives well up to 20-25 years of age.
Pike that have lived to be 30 years old are mainly found in the rivers of Siberia, the Far East, and the Urals. This is explained by the inaccessibility of water bodies compared to the south of the country. Where there is intensive fishing, where poachers hunt, pike do not live to old age.
There is a legend that King Frederick of Germany ringed a young pike. And after 267 years, fishermen caught it. It weighed 140 kg with a length of 5.7 m. In the same way, our Tsar Boris Fedorovich ringed a pike, which was caught after 100 years. Its weight was 60 kg, and its length was 2.5 m. But these are more legends than an answer to the question of how many years a pike lives.
